Adri: Agreed! I think thats only fair. At least its more power to the pilots a little bit. Like I said, they should take advantage of it now, keep their jobs and support the company or they'll start to see job cuts if they dont approve of the idea in the next election. The choice is theirs. I say: Use some common sense and take it now!

It's very easy for us to say "give it up" to pilots, FA's, etc. But we should remember that the airline did give them that salary.

While I'm not going to say the DL pilots shouldn't give some, how often does the airline come to it's workers in bad times to give up something, but when the times are good, do they give just as much back to the workers?

Your statement exemplifies the reasons I hate this type of reporting. There is no actual documented source for the content of the article. Until DL officially makes such a statement, I will regard the article as trash news only whose only purpose was to make headlines. I am sure that the company and the pilot union will change positions several times in the coming months. I don't doubt the company would ask for more, but articles like this do nothing but promote tension among the union. That is why I think it is a load of crap.

Shawn

Air transport is just a glorified bus operation. -Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's chief executive

DL pilots should think this over... There's no point in killing the goose of the golden eggs...

Canoecarrier: your statements seem contradictory... On the one hand, you state DL gave them the salaries to begin with (i.e.: recognition in good times to the best-paid pilots in the industry). Then you move to say they are asked for sacifices in the bad times and no rewards in the good times?

The funny thing is (more ironic than humorous actually), is that the airline is now asking for MORE from its pilots than it did before. When Delta first came to it's pilots for concessions, they flatly refused, or made some pitiful counter offer. Now that they have refused for so long, and kept making their same salaries, Delta has regressed further into the hole, and now the amount required has grown, so their initial refusal to really negotiate is going to end up costing them more. Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to give up anything either, but it is looking more and more like the pilots are going to have to give more than they ever thought they would.

Just my observations based on what has taken place.

CAETravlr

A woman drove me to drink and I didn't have the decency to thank her. - W.C. Fields

"While I'm not going to say the DL pilots shouldn't give some, how often does the airline come to it's workers in bad times to give up something, but when the times are good, do they give just as much back to the workers?"

In Delta's case, they did give the workers more when times were good. When the pilot's contract was up a few years ago, Delta pilots wanted to get paid even more than the record deal United gave to their pilots. And Delta did just that.

I find nothing sinister about Delta's Management seeking to bring the Widget's labor costs in line with the competition. It will be absolutely impossible for Delta to continue operating under it's current wage agreement.

I find ALPA to be very slow to accept the new-found realities of the Airline Industry. The "magical recovery" is not to be seen anywhere down the road. The Industry has forever changed, and there is no turning back. Delta's pilots simply need to face the facts, swallow their poison, and work towards saving the future of their employer. Pilots often act as if they are the only labor force in the Country to have to make sacrifices. I would wager that the vast majority of Delta's passengers (who pay the salary of these same Pilots) have likewise had to endure financial hardships in recent years.

Should Delta file for bankruptcy, the ALPA contract could be immediately abrogated. Under this scenario, ALPA would be begging for the 35% wage cuts that Delta is now requiring.

What really slays me is the fact that ALPA is responsible for placing the Airline Industry on shaky financial grounds even prior to 9/11. It started with the infamous "work action" against UAL in the Summer of 2000. United eventually had no choice than to surrender to ALPA's outrageous demands. The flood gates then opened at every other carrier, as the pilot groups demanded equal or better pay than United's cockpit crews. Only AA had the courage to stand-up to it's (winning a huge law suit against APA) pilots when they tried to exercise similar tactics to those utilized by UAL's ALPA represented group.